Del Norte County Airport to get $3.3 million in grant funding

Congressman Mike Thompson is announcing the allocation of more than $3.3 million in grant funding to the Del Norte County Airport in Crescent City.

The airport is receiving two federal Department of Transportation Airport Improvement Program grants that total $3,345,306, according to a press release. The first grant of $1,362,523 will be used to complete final design and permitting on a replacement terminal facility. The second grant of $1,982,783 will be used for runway safety improvements.

Del Norte County Airport Director Jim Bernard said the grants will help fund the two capital improvement projects that have been on the airport's to-do list for many years.

"These two grants will complete the design and environmental permitting for these two projects, making them shovel-ready for construction funding beginning in 2013," Bernard said in a statement.

According to the release, a new terminal building is needed to replace the existing undersized facility at the airport. The existing terminal is a 62-year-old concrete block and modular structure that is not large enough to meet current passenger and Transportation Security Administration needs. The grant will help complete the engineering design through construction drawings and permitting, making the project shovel-ready for the new building and associated infrastructure.

The Border Coast Regional Airport Authority Board, a joint powers authority that manages and operates the Del Norte County Regional Airport, recently approved partial designs for the terminal. The JPA consists of Del Norte County, Crescent City, Elk Valley Rancheria, Smith River Rancheria, the City of Brookings, Ore., and Curry County, Ore.

The airport's existing runway safety area does not meet Federal Aviation Administration standards and needs to be graded and filled in order to improve safety, the release said. The second grant will fund the final engineering design and permitting for the airport infrastructure project.

Thompson said the airport is an economic hub for Crescent City and the North Coast.

"These grants will help create jobs, improve our local economy and make the airport safer for passengers and planes," Thompson said in a statement.

The grants are provided through the Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration, Airport Improvement grant program. These grants are funded from existing aviation ticket and fuel taxes.